A restaurant in Pune has started delivering food in steel lunch boxes after the Maharashtra Government imposed a ban on the use of plastic in the state.

As part of the initiative taken by the restaurant, the customers are asked to return boxes after the delivery.

Those who order take away food at the restaurant are asked to deposit Rs 200 which will be reimbursed on returning the box.

“We welcome the state government’s decision to ban plastic in the state as it’s in favour of the environment,” Ganesh Shetty, the owner of the restaurant, told agencies.

However, Shetty shared that because of the plastic ban a lot of restaurant chains in the state are facing different issues.

“The government should have provided us some more time to arrange an alternative. Apps like Zomato and Swiggy have stopped working due to lack of delivery options. Customers are also facing inconvenience,” he added.

On March 23, the Maharashtra government had issued a notification, imposing a ban on the manufacture, use, sale and distribution of all plastic materials like plastic bags, spoons, plates, bottles and thermocol items.

On April 13, the Bombay High Court had called the ban ‘reasonable’ after seeing a quantity of 1,200 metric tons of waste every day in the state.